Guardians
by D.E. Lewis
Summary: Nigel hasn't seen his sister since she became to old for the KND. Whatever happened to her?


Disclaimer: I do not own any of the KND, or anything affiliated with it. So, no, I am not making any money off of this.  
  
A/N: My first KND fic. Be nice. If anyone has a good acronym for it, e-mail it to me, please!!! (Did I mention that I suck at acronyms?)  
  
Operation: G.U.A.R.D.I.A.N.S.  
  
(Like I said, I suck at acronyms)  
  
It was supposed to be an easy mission: Get the plans, and get out. It wasn't supposed to involve this very large block of concrete poised to drop over a cage holding the Kids Next Door. They had been stripped of their weapons, and there was nothing in the cage. Numbah One was resting his head against the bars. No way out, and the concrete would fall in five minutes. He had never felt so helpless. Despair washed over him as he heard the Delightful Children laughing.  
  
"How did we get into this?" He whispered to no one in particular. A sudden blast shook the building and knocked out a wall, awaking him from his stupor. Five figures, silhouetted against the light stood with weapons drawn.  
  
"Three, Five and Two, get those kids out. Four, you and I will deactivate the detonation." The leader said. Three figures rushed toward the cage. All were garbed in black, armored jumpsuits with helmets that covered their heads, making their features indistinguishable. One held a laser cutter.  
  
"Stand back." The one with the laser cutter said. It was a girl.  
  
"Agent Two, that could take to long."  
  
"Trust me. I have a plan. I always have a plan." She cut the bottom parts of the bars, and then cut the tops. The bars fell to the ground. Then there was a shout.  
  
"Run! That block's gonna fall! The reset button's jammed!" Four yelled. Two rushed in and grabbed Numbah One. Everything happened so fast; none of them could comprehend it. The next thing he knew, he was on some sort of ship. He felt himself being set down. Two began scanning him with some device.  
  
"Who are you?" he asked. She hadn't removed her helmet, and her voice seemed somehow familiar.  
  
"Sorry, but I really can't tell you. Guardian rules."  
  
"Who are the Guardians?" Numbah Three asked innocently. Agent Two chuckled a little.  
  
"We're just older Kids Next Door, really." She replied. Nigel knew her from somewhere, but he couldn't place it. "Okay, no radiation damage from the laser, you check out." The ship stopped over the tree house. All five stepped off, staring at their unexpected saviors. Two seemed to linger on Nigel for a minute. As the ship took off, she dropped something down to him. He looked at the chain in his hands. On it, was a ring with a black onyx stone.  
  
~~  
  
"It couldn't be. It really couldn't." Nigel muttered to himself in his room. He paced the floor, staring at the necklace. Then he pulled out a photo album. He searched its pages until he found what he was looking for. The photo was of him and a tall girl. She was wearing a chain around her neck. A ring was on the chain. A ring inset with an onyx stone. "I thought she was dead." Numbah One mumbled.  
  
"You know, the first sign of insanity is talking to yourself." Numbah One turned to see Numbah Five standing in the doorway.  
  
"Just looking at some photos."  
  
"Yeah? Of who?" She asked. Nigel smiled.  
  
"My sister and me." Numbah Five sat down next to Numbah One. "Her name was Victoria, or Tory for short."  
  
"What do you mean 'was'?" She asked ominously. Nigel sighed.  
  
"She was Numbah One for a while in the Kids Next Door. I wanted to be just like her. Then, when she turned thirteen, she was too old for the Kids Next Door. Everyone told her she could jeopardize the missions because she could sympathize with the teenagers. She was forced to leave, and I took her place. The next day, she disappeared. No one knows what happened to her. My parents think she's dead."  
  
"But you think otherwise."  
  
"I do now." He held up the ring. "I think she was one of those Guardians. Agent Two tossed this to me as they left."  
  
"She's really beautiful." Numbah Five remarked. She was rather striking. Long dark hair that tumbled down her back, and blue eyes. She was wearing a red shirt, gray slacks, white sneakers, and sunglasses. Numbah Five could see the resemblance between the siblings. Their thoughts were broken by an alarm. Numbah One jumped up.  
  
"Battle stations." He shouted.  
  
~~  
  
The Grown Ups were at it again. A large man in a circus uniform was standing in front of them. He laughed eerily.  
  
"Would you children like to see a circus? With clowns and animals? No? Well then, okay!" Darts flew everywhere. Numbah One suddenly felt a pain in his shoulder. His last though before blacking out was that maybe the team would make it out alive.  
  
~~  
  
The darts stopped, and a cloud of smoke covered the room. Everyone started coughing. When the smoke cleared, Numbah One was gone. Numbah Three shrieked.  
  
"Nobody panic." Numbah Five said. Everyone started screaming and running around. Numbah Five sighed. "Okay, well at least stay calm." She said sarcastically.  
  
~~  
  
Numbah One was greeted back to consciousness by a terrible headache. He tried to lift his arm, but he found it securely tied at his side. He groaned a little. Upon examination, he discovered he was tied to a chair, and he was in a small room. There was glass on the wall in front of him. On the other side of the glass were the Delightful Children. He glared at them. They just laughed.  
  
"Now we will reign triumphant over the Kids Next Door. You cannot stop our latest plan, Numbah One." They said, and laughed again. A bolt of fear shot through Numbah One as he realized he was in serious trouble. Before there had always been the prospect of escape. Now, he was alone. He was also probably dead meat. The Delightful Children pulled a lever and a vent opened up in the room, and a gas began pouring in. Numbah One didn't quite know what it was, but whatever it was, it couldn't be good.  
  
~~  
  
"Okay, so, anyone have an idea of how we can find Numbah One?" Numbah Five asked.  
  
"First, we sneak into the building. Then, we take out the guards and then, we rescue-" Numbah Four was cut off by Abby.  
  
"Yeah, except we don't even know where he is."  
  
"Well, I could invent a homing device that could allow us to track Numbah One's location. Then we could use Numbah Four's plan." Numbah Two said.  
  
"That's a good idea for after we find him. Right now, he's not here, so we can't get a homing device to him."  
  
"Oh, right." Numbah Two said glumly. None of them had any good ideas. Then there was a thump. They turned around to see one of the Guardians standing in front of them.  
  
"Need some help?" She asked in a distinctly British accent. She removed her helmet to reveal a girl with long dark hair flowing down her back, blue eyes and sunglasses. Numbah Five aged Nigel's photo a few years.  
  
"You're Tory?" She asked.  
  
~~  
  
On the ship back to Guardian headquarters, Tory explained the Guardians.  
  
"Essentially, the best Kids Next Door when they get to a certain age can become Guardians. It's our job to protect the world at large from more than just evil grown ups."  
  
"Like what?" Numbah Two asked. Tory smiled.  
  
"Curiosity. Good trait for an inventor. You'll go far." She said. "We protect the Kids Next Door, and we also protect earth from other kids who are against the Kids Next Door."  
  
"The Delightful Brats." Numbah Four commented.  
  
"Actually, I'm heading a project to help them."  
  
"WHAT?" The rest of the Kids Next Door exclaimed.  
  
"Oh yes. They were once like normal children. Then their parents, The Great Mother and Father, decided they weren't showing the traits that they wanted in their children. They created a chemical, a vapor really, that changed their children into what you see today."  
  
"So you mean that the Delightful Children are really nice?" Numbah Three asked.  
  
"Quite so." She said. "Oh, and Hogi, your idea to find Numbah One was perfect, just at the wrong time. I took the liberty of putting homing devices on each of you when we saved you. Hold up, here we are." She touched the ship down in a landing space in a center of huge buildings. Numbah Four let out a low whistle.  
  
"Big place." He muttered.  
  
"Oh, but of course. This is the central for Guardian Headquarters. We're a few thousand strong."  
  
~~  
  
After leading the four into a room filled with machinery, Tory sat down at one of the consoles, and put on a headset.  
  
"Now, if I could ask you to be very quiet, I need to find my brother. Computer, show me the location of Numbah One."  
  
"Numbah One's location is in the warehouse district."  
  
"Zoom search."  
  
" Numbah One's location is in warehouse twenty-four."  
  
"Zoom search to exact room and physical status."  
  
"Numbah One's location is in the vapor room of warehouse twenty-four. Physical status unknown."  
  
"Humph." Tory muttered, thinking. "Computer. Show me a map of warehouse twenty-four with Numbah One's location highlighted." A map showed up on the screen. Tory hit a few buttons, and five discs popped into a tray. She picked up the discs. Then she turned to the Kids Next Door.  
  
"You will go with Chris into my room. Wait there until I call you." She said.  
  
"But can't we come?" Numbah Two asked.  
  
"No. It's too dangerous, and this is Guardian jurisdiction." She said, and turned sharply away.  
  
~~  
  
Tory was sitting in the ship, ready to rescue her brother for the second time that day. Even though she wanted to help them, the Delightful Children were starting to bother her. They had become so elusive that she was unable to catch them and bring them to her reversal chamber. There she could bring them back to their original states. She sighed. For the first time, her armor felt heavy. It never felt heavy. If she failed, her parents would lose another child. If she succeeded, who knows what had happened to her brother.  
  
"Thinking?" Agent Four said. Mark was her best friend and closest confidant.  
  
"I can't lose him. Not again." She said. "Never again."  
  
~~  
  
Infiltrating the warehouse was easy. No guards, nothing. It was too easy. Everyone was on the lookout.  
  
"Insert your map disks." Agent One said. They all slipped the disks into a slot on their helmets. "We travel in a group." The maps showed up on the faceplates, which included the team's location, plus Numbah One's location. They ran down the hall, turned corners, and burst into the observation room to Nigel's holding cell. The Delightful Children turned around.  
  
"You cannot save your dearest Numbah One now, Guardians. He is ours." They said.  
  
"Where is he?" Agent Two demanded.  
  
"Right here." Said an eerily monotone voice. Tory turned to see her brother. His skin was pale; dark circles surrounded his eyes, he was wearing odd clothing, his shades were gone, and he was standing unnaturally straight. Tory gasped.  
  
"The changing formula." She whispered. Agent Five grabbed the boy around the waist. Nigel struggled. Violently. Agent Five grunted as the boy's elbow connected with his gut again.  
  
"Come on. Let's get out of here." Five shouted. Then cage bars dropped down in front of the door. Tory pulled out a larger laser blaster. She blasted the bars right off the door.  
  
"You will never have him back, you know." The Delightful Children said. Tory glared.  
  
"Yes, actually, I will." She said, and pulled the others and her beloved brother out to the ship, leaving the Delightful Children laughing behind them.  
  
~~  
  
"I really don't know what we can do for him, other than sedate him." Agent One said on the ship, after Nigel had been successfully sedated. He lay sleeping on one of the medical beds.  
  
"Well what, pray tell, do you think I've been doing for the last six months? Running in circles for no apparent reason? I've been developing an antidote." She replied.  
  
"What have you tested it on?" Agent one asked again.  
  
"Rats mostly. This will be the first time it has ever been tested on a human." Tory replied. She sighed she hoped this worked.  
  
~~  
  
The Kids Next Door had been shown to the room where the procedure would be preformed.  
  
"What's gonna happen to him?" Numbah Five asked.  
  
"Hopefully, he'll be returned to normal, but there's no telling if this will work at all." Tory said, her voice filled with worry. Nigel stood, brooding and pacing in the vapor room. Tory pressed a button. Vents opened up and gas poured in.  
  
"We should start to see changes instantly, once the right amount is hit." She said. No changes were happening yet. She let more into the room. Still nothing. She looked at a gauge showing where the vapor amount was. It was almost empty. She pressed a button allowing the rest in. The dark circles left, Nigel slumped a little, and then he spoke.  
  
"Hey, let me out of here." No monotone. Tory grinned. Her brother was back.  
  
~~  
  
"You know, sis, I'm glad you're not dead." Nigel said, hugging his sister on the way back to the tree house. He was dressed in normal clothing, and was back to his normal self.  
  
"I'm glad you're you. That was rather frightening not knowing if you would be okay." She said. She hugged him again. As the ship touched down, Nigel handed Tory something: A chain, holding a ring set with an onyx stone. She slipped it around her neck.  
  
"I love you, little brother. I love you very much." And for one moment, all seemed right in the world.  
  
~~  
  
A/N: okay, so it kinda sucks. R&R please! 


End file.
